The program "Fighting systems of the future" - howitzer ХМ1203 NLOS-C
In the United States of America passed tests of new self-propelled artillery installation - 155-mm howitzer ХМ1203 None-Line of Sight Cannon (NLOS-C). In a literal sense, this can be translated as “a gun firing out of direct line of sight,” that is, from closed positions.
Self-propelled gun was developed in the framework of the new program of the US Department of Defense "Fighting systems of the future." Although skeptics claim that in an age of controlled and highly accurate weapons self-propelled howitzers - a relic of the past. However, there is also a lot of evidence in favor of artillery systems. For example, the shells after the shot are not susceptible to radio-electronic interference, intercepting them by means of air defense is much more difficult than a rocket. Self-propelled artillery has a significantly higher rate of fire (with the exception of multiple launch rocket systems) and large ammunition on board. It is worth noting that artillery ammunition is much cheaper than missiles.
The first NLOS-C firing tests were conducted in October 2006 of the year, and the first self-propelled prototype with a closed tower came off in May 2008 of the year from the conveyor of BAE Systems, which is located in Minneapolis. And in July, was shown in Washington directly in front of the White House on Capitol Hill.
The developers decided that self-propelled guns were better protection than powerful armor. Therefore, aluminum armor protects the crew only from fragments. The self-propelled gun has a mass of about 20 tons and is easily transported by the army transport aviation. NLOS-C is equipped with an electromechanical power plant: the engine charges the batteries, which drive electric motors, rollers, rotating. The caliber of the gun is 155 mm, the range of the shot is 30 km. NLOS-C is automatically charged, equipped with an effective cooling system, which, according to the developers, allows you to shoot the entire ammunition - 24 rounds in less than 4 minutes. The projectile is actually monitored by the radar over the entire trajectory, and the on-board computer, working through the data received, corrects the following shots. A self-propelled gun is installed on the self-propelled gun, so the crew size has been reduced to two people: a driver mechanic and a gunner-commander.
It was planned that by the year 2012 the US Army would receive about 20 samples of howitzers for testing, and serial deliveries would begin in the 2014 year. However, in the 2009 year, the program “Fighting systems of the future” was frozen, and the question of the future fate of the self-propelled gun remains open.
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